Nokia boss Shivakumar at Convocation Ceremony of FORE School

Convocation ceremony of FORE is usually a sought after occasion as it is an opportunity to hear top corporate leaders inspiring the students with their wisdom. Mr. D. Shivakumar, Senior Vice President India, Middle East and Africa for Nokia & President All India Management Association, was a part of this elite list, as the Chief Guest on the convocation ceremony held on Friday, May 10, 2013. The legendary Chairman Emeritus Mr. Narayan Murthy graced the occasion as Chief Guest in the year 2012.

After lighting of the ceremonial lamp, Mr. Shivakumar, an alumni of IIM Calcutta and recipient of the most distinguished alumnus award (one of nine alumni to get this in the history of IIM Calcutta), enthused the outgoing students with an inspiring speech. He urged the passing out students to prepare themselves to be business leaders, because India's voice will matter a lot as India shall be a giant in the coming two decade, wielding immense soft power for which the nation needs a lot of fresh set of ambassadors and afresh thinking minds.

Shivakumar left the youngsters with valuable and thought provoking insights. On goal in life and role of money in their career he said, "Ambition is good and it fuels progress but one needs to be realistic about it. I hear many young people wanting to be a CEO by the time they are 35 or 40. I would say to you, don't put these artificial timelines and pressure on yourselves. If you want to be a CEO, prepare for it; don't plan it by a date". He advised them not to just run after money, as money may be important to a point; it should not be the defining variable of the career choices. "If one is good, money will follow him; but having money doesn't necessarily mean that he is good. The relationship between you and your company must be one of pride. You should never work for a company if you are not proud of it and the values it stands for. And whenever you change organisation, please think deeply about the culture and value fit. Exercise the choice wisely".

In the age of free information, he continued, one should value insights more over information. "Insights from colleagues, customers and consumers will help you and your companies become more innovative, helping you meet the challenges of the new consumer". In this digital society he urged students to be responsible ‘Netizens', while being active in the social media.

Talking about the role of family and health he said, success and failure shall cross the career path in equal measure but neither last forever. One should have the humility to deal with both success and failure in the same way. Being the ‘high achievement generation' one should not be a victim of stress. High achievement should not come at a cost to his health. "A job is a job and not your life. Work-life balance should be a personal agenda and should not be expected from any organization. Jobs may come and go, money may come and go, but families don't come and go, a family is permanent and will be your deepest emotional anchor." He concluded by advising the students to contribute to the society as contribution to the society is the actual measure of success and self-worth, not how much one earns.

Dr. Jitendra K. Das, Director of FORE presented the annual activity report for the institute and emphasized on FORE's new phase of growth by going international through exchange programmes. Also present in the ceremony was, President of FORE Mr. R.C. Sharma; Dr. B. B. L. Madhukar, Vice President of FORE. 171 students of PGDM (FMG - 20th Batch), 59 students of the PGDM (IMG - 5th Batch) and 28 students of the PGDM (WMG-19th Batch) were honored to receive their diplomas.
However, Mr. Shivakumar, who has decided to quit the Finnish mobile giant Nokia, didn't reveal much about his future plans, when asked, except confirming that he would settle in India.